Trains at Chester-le-Street

There are relatively few steam special trains that run on the east coast main line north of York, but this Saturday morning there were three! I knew from past experience that there are few good locations to take a photograph, and used Google Earth to try and find a suitable spot. The footbridge at Chester-le-Street looked like a possibility, as it would provide a natural frame for the shot, and there should be enough light from the East to at least illuminate the side of the train. A search on Flickr and Google revealed nothing, but I decided to give it a go.



60007 Sir Nigel Gresley, the locomotive named after the chief mechanical engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), storms through. 60007 is a member of the same class of locomotive as Mallard, which holds the world record for speed by steam traction, at circa 126 mph.



While the LNER dominated the east coast, the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) occupied pole position on the west, and their chief engineer, Sir William Stanier, came up with this masterpiece. No. 6233 Duchess of Sutherland.

The third locomotive to come along that morning was British Railways standard class pacific 70013 Oliver Cromwell, but by the time that train arrived the sun would have been pointing directly at the lens of the camera at this same location, so I abandoned ship and went elsewhere.

Tanfield Legends of Industry

The Tanfield Railway hosted a "Legends of Industry" weekend which involved a Photographers' evening on the Friday and then an expanded timetable of trains over the following two days. In addition there were visiting locomotives, steam road vehicles, and a vintage car rally. It was a very well organised affair, and I appreciated the fact that most of the railway volunteer staff wore period costume. I could have taken many more photographs, but had foolishly taken a flat spare camera battery with me, so had to draw proceedings to a premature close!



A Sentinel steam bus



Five locomotives in steam



The rarely seen "Twizell" was dragged out of the shed - it is hoped to have this locomotive running by Xmas



The ever reliable No 49 seen with the background of a coloured sky



Two tiny visiting locomotives from the Bodmin Railway haul a train of coal trucks from East Tanfield

Nuthatch - Washington Wetland Centre

The woodland hide at Washington was burnt down by vandals recently, but the centre's handyman has built a new hide in record time, and this one has no glass in the windows - perfect for photography! The hide faces to the south, so you do have to use flash to show any detail in the birds. Fortunately the flash does not appear to trouble the birds at all.

Photo taken using a Canon 5D camera, Sigma 100-300 f4 lens, and an ancient Vivitar flashgun.

Swans and Cygnets - Herrington Country Park

Canon 5D 70-200L

Man Photographing Roker Lighthouse

This polished granite sculpture, placed at the end of the coast to coast (C2C) cycle route at Roker, has engraved upon its surface the names of the various heavenly bodies within the solar system, aligned with what will be their actual positions at Easter.

Canon 5D 24-70L

Independence day at (the original) Washington

The appalachian dance team "Step This Way" perform in the garden of Washington Old Hall, ancestral home of George Washington

Gulls Nesting - North Shields

You can see this house from the Shields ferry, the owners have tried to deter the gulls using wire mesh and wire spikes on the flat surfaces, but the birds are most determined!

Canon 5D